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Salt Tolerance of Prostrate Summer Cypress ( Kochia prostrata ) 1
Author(s) -
Francois L. E.
Publication year - 1976
Publication title -
agronomy journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.752
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1435-0645
pISSN - 0002-1962
DOI - 10.2134/agronj1976.00021962006800030005x
Subject(s) - salinity , cypress , agronomy , rangeland , forage , perennial plant , soil salinity , sodium , halophyte , sowing , biology , horticulture , chemistry , botany , ecology , organic chemistry
Prostrate summer cypress ( Kochia prostrata L.), a widely distributed perennial shrub in Russia, was imported into the USA to determine its potential as an acceptable forage on the western rangelands. Since considerable acreage of its possible habitat contains salt‐affected soils, a salt tolerance study was done to determine how well suited it was to these saline areas. Two accessions of Kochia prostrata L., PI 314929 and PI 358941, were tested using soil cultures in the greenhouse. Salinity levels used were 2, 7, 11, and 17 mmho⁄cm. The plants were harvested six times over a 3‐year period. Both accessions proved to be very salt tolerant but PI 358941 was significantly more productive than PI 314929 at all salinity levels. Although sodium and chloride contents approached 50 and 85 meq⁄100 g dry matter, respectively, no salt injury symptoms were visible. Sodium uptake increased proportionately with increasing salinity, whereas chloride uptake was less dependent on salt concentration and appreciably greater than that of sodium. Since both accessions proved to be highly salt tolerant, they should be well adapted for planting in the salt‐affected western rangelands.